Every new treatment, new diagnostic or medical device starts with the spark of an idea. Protecting that spark through the long and complex process of research, development and licensing then managing its introduction into healthcare systems is the foundation of almost every advance in patient care.

As a scientist and a passionate advocate for Europe’s research and development community, I am deeply concerned about the potential shift in the balance between Europe being at the cutting edge of medical innovation and Europe choosing to compete with China and India in manufacturing low cost, patent-expired medicines. At EFPIA, we have laid out our perspective on the importance of Europe’s intellectual property framework, in particular around the SPC.